After
by fred21
Summary: The battle between the The Flash and The Man in Yellow can only end in one way. But what happens after? Can there even be an after?
1. Chapter 1

Eddie isn't exactly sure what's happening.

What he does know is that the rain from earlier has almost stopped and that The Flash and The Reverse Flash have been fighting it out for what seems like an eternity and all around them there are shimmering streaks of red and gold with sparks shooting off them. It would almost be beautiful if he didn't know what it all meant. But he does. And the beauty of it dims and instead becomes something that is stark and brutal. Every now and again the streaks disappear and two figures, one red and one gold, tumble to the ground, locked in a struggle that is deadly as they battle, striking blows against each other,

There is only one way that this can end.

Every instinct in Eddie wants to help but he knows there is nothing he can do, nothing that any of them can do. The feeling of helplessness sits uneasily on him but for now all he can do is watch as good and evil fight against each other.

Suddenly the two figures appear, solid and real, standing on the edge of a tall building. They seem to stare intently at each other in some kind of silent communication and then the moment is gone as the man in yellow grabs the other and pushes him off the roof with a violent shove.

Eddie's stomach literally drops, his face falling in stunned shock as everything around him goes silent.

But it's not the end.

Or at least it's not the end of The Flash.

Because the moment his foot steps off the ledge, hovering in mid-air, his hand snakes out grabbing the man in yellow by his forearm, gripping it tightly. The deep red figure seems to freeze in time for a moment and then the two men are falling... falling... falling...

… and the red and gold shimmers and sparkles, dissolving into one single entity, turning into a bright white light that flashes out like an angelic firework moments before a figure hits the ground with the thud.

It's The Flash.

Alive and standing on two feet, a faint crackling sound of energy vibrating off him as tiny sparks of red and gold and white flicker out from his body. Of the man in yellow there is no sign and whatever has happened to him Eddie doesn't really care because The Flash is standing here, here and alive. That's all that matters.

The man in red sways on his feet where he stands, his suit torn and bloody before a sound like a clap of thunder echoes out and he buckles to the ground.

It's all Eddie needs and even before the red clad figure hits the ground Eddie is running towards him, wanting to help the man who has helped so many. Reaching him he stares down at him for a second. There are rips and tears in the red suit, revealing pale skin underneath and the facial hood that covers his face is mostly intact except for a small tear under one of his eyes and the figure is so utterly still that Eddie wonders if he is even alive. But what stuns him the most is that he knows this man, or at least he thought he did.

"Barry?"

The name slips from his lips like a sigh but it's the sight of the blood that gears him into action, pulling him out of his surprise with a jolt as he realises that the sound of thunder wasn't thunder at all but the sound of a bullet being fired.

He shrugs out of his jacket and drops to his knees, ignoring the puddle of water as it seeps through his trousers as he kneels on the ground. He quickly runs his hands over the body, noticing the fine bleeding cuts that are underneath each tear in the suit. It's the bullet wound though that is most concerning. Eddie places both his hands on top of it, the deep red of blood running through his fingers as he presses down hard in an effort to slow the bleeding.

"Barry! Barry. Stay me with me Barry. Don't you dare go giving up on me. Okay?"

The words are filled with emotion and Eddie is doing everything he can to stay calm, calling on all his police training to keep focus on what needs to be done and pushing the fear and panic back. It's a skill that every cop has and one at this very moment that Eddie is glad for. He needs to focus if he's to keep Barry alive.

He glances down at the ground and sees blood seeping out from underneath Barry. A through-and-through. This is good. Very good. Or least it would be if there wasn't so much blood.

A small spluttering cough coming from Barry is enough for Eddie to pull his attention away from the blood on the ground and focus back on him. He moves one hand, while keeping the other still firmly in place above the wound, and places it on Barry's shoulder, squeezing it gently as he holds him down.

"Bar, you need to stay still. Please."

Barry seems to hear Eddie's plea and turns his head slightly in his direction, hazel eyes locking on to clear blue. "Eddie?" The moment the name leaves his lips his head slumps back to the ground as he falls into unconsciousness.

Just as Eddie turns to call out for help Joe and Caitlin arrive, breathless from running.

Caitlin takes position next to Eddie and begins doing what she does best – healing people. Knowing that Barry is in capable hands Eddie moves aside and folds his jacket, placing it gently under Barry's head, being careful not to move him too much. He glances over to Joe who is kneeling on Barry's other side, both of their faces mirrors of each other, concern and worry etched on them.

The sound of a vehicle arriving, its brakes squealing as it comes to a stand still, is the sound of hope. After that everything else is a blur.

There is Caitlin giving orders to them all as they carefully pick Barry up and place him on the gurney. Caitlin knows what's she doing, as does Cisco as he helps her as she hooks Barry up to tubes and fluids. As for Joe and himself, they both feel so helpless as they go through the motions, following her instructions to the letter yet with no idea what they are really doing. Somehow through all of this Captain Singh has arrived and is ushering the other police into keeping people far back, giving those that are tending to the Flash a chance to do their job.

Eddie is grateful for this. Grateful that no one is trying to get a glimpse of who the Flash really is. Grateful for being given space so that he and the others can concentrate on saving Barry's life.

Eventually in what seems like forever but is really only a couple of minutes they speed away in the Star Lab van, a police escort with them as Cisco drives like a maniac, breaking just about every traffic law there is. At the lab there is more activity, a whirlwind of movement as Caitlin works on Barry, doing everything she can to save him. Cisco is there too, monitoring vitals on the the monitors, rushing over to help her as she needs it.

Joe stands back, slumping into the nearest chair as the weight of what is happening catches up with him, cradling his head in his hands. This is his son. Or as near as. And Eddie can't begin to imagine what this must be like for him.

"Joe. He'll be alright."

Joe looks up, the tears he is holding back glistening in his eyes. He nods at Eddie. "Yes. He will be," he says. The words sound hollow and the stricken look on Joe's face shows that as much as he wants to believe this he is worried that this is finally it. That The Flash... that Barry has finally fought a battle that he can't come back from.

As for Eddie... he's filled with so many emotions he's not sure if he's feeling anything at all.

He's awed and amazed that Barry is the Flash. That the guy he has been working with all this time has been putting his life on the line, time and time again. He can't quite wrap his head around it and yet all the little clues that he should have seen but didn't start to come together and in a weird kind of way it all makes perfect sense.

Barry is The Flash.

And yet as much as he is amazed and awed by this there are other things that are far more important. Because despite being some kind of superhero Barry is still Barry. He's human and fragile and vulnerable and right now he is hurt.

Badly hurt.

Seeing Barry injured is like an open wound on Eddie's heart. It hurts. It hurts far more than he thought possible. And it makes him realise that he cares for Barry. Cares for Barry in ways that have nothing to do with just friendship. But he can't go right there now. He can't focus on what this might mean. Because everyone around him is hurting also and all he can do is stand by and watch as his friend fights for his life.


	2. Chapter 2

The lab is quiet now. There's just him and Barry and a blissful sense of calm and utter stillness that wraps around him like a comforting blanket. It's been a long week and an even longer night and day and now 24 hours after Barry was hurt it's a relief to be sitting in the dimly lit room with nothing but silence surrounding him.

It helps that the lab is not like other hospitals. There are no smells of ammonia or disinfectant or a thousand other chemicals that always seem to linger in every other hospital ward he has ever been in. Instead there is just the faint scent of a woman's perfume, light and fresh, like some kind of summer flower bending in the breeze and dancing on the edges is the faint aroma of freshly brewed coffee, beckoning in its fullness.

The quiet is different too. There are no sounds of machines beeping and whooshing or footsteps walking up and down corridors or voices talking in the distance. The machines here seem to make no noise and the only sound is the faint tap tap tap of busy fingers working away on a nearby keyboard and that he can only hear if he concentrates hard enough.

His focus though is on the man laying in front of him. It's the first time since last night in the dark and the wet that he has really looked at Barry and what he sees makes his heart ache. There's a part of him that would really like to just reach out and hold his hand and tell him that everything will be alright but he doesn't and it feels strange not to. He's not one to hold back his emotions, has always been a tactile person. A touch here, a touch there, physical contact as a way of connecting with someone, of letting them know he was there for them. But he's kind of hollowed out at the moment, his feelings so raw and overwhelming that he's had to push them back. He needs to be strong. Has to be strong. For Joe, for Iris, for all the people that care about Barry.

The gently touch of a hand on his shoulder pulls him out of his thoughts and he looks up to see Felicity standing there, a mug of coffee in one hand, her smile a little tight, her eyes a little sad, as if she is forcing herself not think about how close they had come to losing Barry for good. Eddie knows how she feels. Knows that he will never forget the sight of Barry falling or of the blood on his hands, so red, so dark as it seeped between his fingers as he tried to stem the flow of it as it ran from Barry's body. He has a feeling that those two images will haunt his dreams in the nights to come.

"He'll be alright" she softly says, her words an exact echo of the words Eddie had said to Joe much earlier as she hands him the coffee.

He takes it gratefully, glad for the use it gives his hands to do something other than to sit idly by and nods in reply, his gaze flicking back to Barry. He doesn't know Felicity that well, if barely at all, but from the brief times he's seen her he can tell that there is a strong friendship between her and Barry. And her presence, along with Diggle's and Oliver's, has already made a difference.

Diggle had been a blessing to Caitlin, working alongside her to help stitch Barry up and offering his steadying influence when they needed it the most. Felicity too has played her part, putting her IT skills to use to monitor and shape all the online talk and news feeds about The Flash, feeding out information where and when necessary as well as providing them all with strong, hot coffee and sweet, sticky donuts. Oliver's presence can also be felt, invisible though it is. Like Joe and Eddie he is uncomfortable doing nothing so instead he has donned his Arrow persona and is watching over the city, making sure that the bad guys don't take advantage of the Flash's absence.

It is good that they are here.

Felicity squeezes his shoulder again offering, in her own slightly awkward way, reassurance with the simple gesture and then her fingers are gone and all he is left with is the lingering scent of her perfume and the steady beat of her high heels getting fainter and fainter as she returns to her post.

He turns his head in her direction, his face pale, his eyes glistening with pent up emotion. "Thanks Felicity."

Surrounded by computers, she smiles back at him, knowing that the thanks is for far more than just the coffee and sits back down at her station, losing herself once again in the world of ones and zeros.

Turning back to his vigil Eddie leans forward a little, resting his elbows on his thighs, the coffee mug clasped firmly in his hands.

The gently rise and fall of Barry's chest is all the reminder he needs.

Barry is alive.

Badly hurt, yes. But alive. That at least is a start.

His pale skin is marred with cuts and abrasions and bruises, the more serious wounds hidden underneath a swab of dressings and metal clamps holding together fractured and broken bones. Tubes weave there way down to each arm, silently feeding him medication and fluids, while another tube, stretches across his face, giving him a steady supply of oxygen. Through it all Barry has laid there silent and still, oblivious to the activity around him.

He would heal - in time, at least that's what Caitlin thinks, but for now the waiting begins.

Waiting.

It's not something that Eddie has ever been that good at. He believes in action, in doing, in living. Waiting just means that life is passing you by and Eddie is not the kind of person to let life just drift on by him. But for Barry he'll wait. He'll wait because Barry is his friend, because he knows that Barry would wait for him. As for the other reason, he's never really let himself consider it before but now it's there. In his head and in his heart. If he's truthfully honest with himself it's always been there. A faint hum under his skin that drew him to Barry. He had felt it the moment they had first met. A fissure of electricity, a spark of something that hinted at possibilities. But the timing had never been right. There had been the whole thing with the particle accelerator, Barry being struck by lightening, the meta humans...

The list of reasons were long and complicated and he hasn't even gotten to the fact that Joe, who was Barry's father in all but name, was also his colleague and partner. And then there is Barry. Eddie has no idea what he feels. if he feels anything for him at all. There were times when he had thought there might be something there but something always happened and then the moment was gone and Eddie had been left wondering if it had really been there after all.

So he had done nothing.

That was a first for him. To do nothing, to not take a chance, to not put himself out there and take a risk. It wasn't like him at all. But he had done it because it had seemed like the right thing to do. And in return he's gotten to be Barry's friend and that is a good thing. It's not something that he wants to lose. But with everything that has happened he wants to try for something more. He wants the possibility. The possibility of him and Barry. Together. Wants it more than he's ever wanted anything before.

So he'll wait.

He'll wait because hope and possibility are all he has right now. All any of them has.


	3. Chapter 3

Days go by and Eddie adapts to the new way of things fairly quickly.

He wakes up late, goes to the gym, works out, showers, dresses, has a protein shake then heads out to Jitters to pick up coffee and bagels. Then it's off to Star Labs to deliver said items and to see how everyone is doing and to check up on Barry, despite the fact that Felicity, Caitlin and Cisco have all been texting him throughout the morning, keeping him informed on Barry's progress. Not that there's much to report on. But the need to know how Barry is doing is a constant thing and one that he has to see with his own eyes. Strangely enough the others seem to know this and accept his daily visits as a matter of course.

As much as he promises himself that the visit to the Lab will be a quick one he inevitably ends up staying a good hour and every time he leaves it gets harder and harder to do so. He _wants _to be by Barry's side, to be there for Joe and Iris and the others but he knows that the best thing for everyone is for him to carry on as normal as possible. It's hard but it's the right thing to do. At least that's what he tells himself every time he goes to leave.

Work at least is a distraction and for the next eight hours or so he can lose himself in it. He's on light duties, thanks to Singh, which is considerate on one hand but really really boring on the other. Spending his time following up on reports, writing reports, _filing_ reports is not the sort of thing he signed up for.

He breaks the monotony of the day by grabbing a quick bite to eat and going for a walk, most often up to Barry's lab. For the first few days he found it almost impossible to even walk pass the room. The silence and emptiness of it feels so wrong and seeing the lab void of Barry's presence stings just a little - more than just a little. Barry belongs here, out in the world, not lying in some bed, silent and still.

It takes three days to pass before he finally manages to enter the room and when he does it's like a sucker punch to the gut that takes his breath away. Barry's presence is everywhere.

There's his black jacket tossed casually over the back of a chair and his coffee mug still half filled with days old coffee sitting next to his keyboard along with a small model of an atom and what looks like a small toy replica of R2D2 from Star Wars.

That Barry is a geek comes as no surprise.

And of course there are the photos. One of Barry with Iris and another one of Barry with Joe, both taking pride of place on one of the desks. There's even a post-it-note written in Barry's distinctive handwriting stuck in the middle of one of the monitor screens with the words "Dinner 6pm Joe's house".

To most people they would be meaningless insignificant things and yet to Eddie they are all reminders of what they have lost.

It's the faint whiff of Barry's aftershave that almost undoes him. The scent of it still lingers in the room after all this time and for one tiny brief moment he feels his resolve start to grumble. With a deep breath Eddie places his hands on his hips and closes his eyes, taking the time to pull himself together.

He never thought it would be this hard but it is and as much as he wishes he could talk to someone about what he is feeling he knows he has to go through this alone. Joe, Iris, Caitlin, Cisco... they are all suffering, now is not the time to be burdening them with what he is going through. The pain he is feeling is his and his alone.

His emotions under control once again Eddie spends the next few minutes wandering around the lab. So much of Barry is here that it's hard to think of the lab without thinking of him.

Pausing by one of the desks Eddie picks up one of the framed photos as memories of Barry filter through his mind. He can see him quite clearly, face creased in concentration, body and hands moving in almost constant motion, long elegant fingers either tapping away at his keyboard or gathering and analysing evidence while his mind is obviously buzzing with a million and one things. It was that energy that drew Eddie to Barry in the first place, that and the mega watt smile he had flashed at him the first day they had met which had sent all sorts of tingles throughout Eddie's body along with some serious sinful thoughts. Thoughts that were way too inappropriate to be having about a work colleague. At the time Eddie had half-hoped that the guy would turn out to be a jerk hence squashing any future lustful thoughts. That Barry had instead turned out to be smart, loyal and kind if just a little awkward and clumsy had made it all the more harder for Eddie to fight the attraction he felt.

He has always had a weakness for smart nerdy guys.

But fight the attraction he had, partly because of his own insecurities and partly because getting involved with a colleague never seemed to work out well; at least going from what he had observed. He had seen too many cases of dating couples trying to work together as professional colleagues and failing and all the ensuing awkwardness and difficulties that would follow after the break-up. It was hard enough making a relationship work outside of the office but when you threw in the job and the dangers it involved it just seemed like a recipe for disaster, cliché as it sounded. For once in his life he had held off and squashed those feelings down, _deep deep down. _Not perhaps the healthiest of methods but it had worked – mostly.

Now though those feelings have flared up again along with a ton of other emotions and as the days go by he becomes more and more sure that he doesn't want to squash those feelings down again.

This time he wants to try. Or at least attempt to try to have something with Barry. Something more than just friendship.

He knows that it's a risk. A really, really big risk. A big risk that could all blow up in his face and leave him with nothing. But if there's a chance that they could have something more he's willing to try.

Of course Barry has to wake up first. That would be a start.

In the meantime Eddie tries to lose himself in work and when work is finished - usually sometime between 7 and 8 pm - routine takes over. It's a pretty simple routine, much like his morning one.

From work he heads home, grabbing a bite to eat on the way; something healthy if he can manage it, otherwise it's a burger and a diet coke. Fast and easy and food he can start eating the moment his car leaves the drive-through. Arriving at his apartment he flicks the TV on, turns the volume down low and quickly surfs through the channels. He doesn't pick anything specific to watch, just something that is mindless that doesn't require too much attention. Satisfied with his choice he then finishes his meal - if he hasn't already – slips off his shoes and jacket and makes himself comfortable on the sofa. It only takes a matter of moments before he falls into a deep sleep.

A couple of hours later he wakes up, as if some internal clock inside him knows that it's time for him to carry on with the rest of his evening. Awake he quickly freshens up, changes into jeans and a t-shirt, makes up a Thermos of coffee and heads out the door, grabbing his keys and jacket as he does so. It's a routine that he's already so familiar with that anyone would think he had been doing it for years instead of just a little over a week.

It's late by the time he arrives at Star Labs and the others have mostly left. There's just him and either Felicity or Cisco and sometimes Caitlin, though she never stays around for very long. Joe is there too, sitting in a chair next to Barry's bed, watching over him. Eddie joins him, taking up position on the other side of Barry's bed. The two of them talk for a little while, their voices quiet as they share reminiscences. Eventually Joe gets up and heads home, though Eddie knows it costs him a little bit to leave Barry behind.

Once Joe is gone Eddie settles in for the night. He shrugs out of his jacket, pours himself a coffee; sharing some of with Felicity if she is around; talks to Barry about anything and everything and nothing; casual comments about how the day went. Finally he leans back into the chair, pulls out a pristine new copy of 'A Game of Thrones' from his jacket pocket and begins to read out aloud.


End file.
